AFTER THE "UNWELCOME" SIGN WAS LAID OUT the last time he tried
to
come to Washington, a battered, besieged Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu
didn't want to ride back into town later this month without heavy
reinforcements for his encounter with President Clinton.

But it looks like Bibi's cavalry won't be on Capitol Hill when
he
is due to arrive. Clinton has invited him to meet at the White
House on January 20, a week before the Congress returns from its
extended
winter break. However, Netanyahu may try to use his present government
crisis to delay the encounter.

When they do meet, the two men will have some tough talk in
store
about the future of the peace process. Clinton wants to know just what
Netanyahu has in mind for the next stage of West Bank redeployment, and
he
plans to press for a "time out" on settlement construction.

The peace process lost its leading supporter in the Israeli
Cabinet
with the resignation of Foreign Minister David Levy, which leaves the
Netanyahu government with a single-vote majority.

A budget crisis prompted Levy's resignation and the subsequent
cabinet crisis, but the peace process figured in the calculations of
some
right-wing members of the Netanyahu coalition, who made no secret of
their
desire to prolong the budget impasse in order to block any movement on
the
peace front.

At least a dozen right-wing Knesset members have threatened to
bring down the government if Netanyahu actually goes ahead with any
further
West Bank withdrawals. Meanwhile, they are betting the longer they delay, the better the chances are an act of Palestinian violence will give
Netanyahu cause to cancel the move.

Levy's resignation may take away the Cabinet's lonesome dove,
but
it will have little impact on policy towards the United States because
Netanyahu kept that portfolio for himself.

Capitol Hill has always been friendly territory for Netanyahu,
and
he stays in close contact with friends there, but sources report the old enthusiasm for him is missing.

There is growing unhappiness with what many lawmakers here view
as
the prime minister's foot-dragging in the peace process, but don't look
for
any Members of Congress to say so publicly, well-placed Congressional
sources advise.

"Any flak he gets up here will be behind closed doors," said a
veteran pro-Israel staffer. "No one is willing to do it in public
because
they can't be sure of the reaction from the Jews."

Said a Jewish aide: "Most Members want the peace process to go
forward and they're ----ed at Bibi, but they don't want to risk
alienating
any Jewish constituents or the pro-Israel PACs and they don't want the
right wing attacking them, so they're happy to let Clinton play the bad
cop
for them and take all the heat."

Netanyahu's most outspoken Congressional supporters tend to be
among the younger, conservative Republicans. They were also among the
harshest critics of the peace policies of the Rabin-Peres governments.

Many are prodded along by small but highly vocal right-wing
opponents of the Oslo Accords like Americans for a Safe Israel, the Zionist
Organization of America, and others funded by such critics as bingo magnate Irving Moskowitz.

These congressmen are generally out of step with the mainstream
of
the Jewish community on domestic policy as well as the peace process,
which
continues to have the support of most American Jews and Israelis, albeit
with waning enthusiasm.

VETERAN PRO-ISRAEL ACTIVISTS PRIVATELY CONFESS that it is difficult
to
tell whether these outspoken Arafat-bashers are more motivated by
concern
for Israel's safety or an opportunity to score political points against
Clinton and the Democrats.

"As relative newcomers, they've had no painful decisions to
make,
no close votes on the House floor on aid cuts, no going up against a
popular president of their own party," said a congressional source.
"Palestinian bashing is low risk for these guys. Everyone likes to hook
up
with Israel because it's good for their careers, good for their
fundraising
and good foreign policy."

A senior Netanyahu aide admitted, "He'll feel more comfortable
coming when Congress is in session."

Netanyahu's supporters feel it was no accident that the
Administration waited until Congress adjourned last fall before
increasing
the pressure, and then, said one Israeli official, the PM "took a
pounding."

Last summer and early autumn, as the peace process continued to
deteriorate, the Administration took political soundings that convinced
it
the Jewish community would tolerate increased pressure on Netanyahu as
long
as it would be perceived as reasonable, and equal or greater pressure
was
applied to the Palestinians.

That led to the presidential decision not to meet with Netanyahu when he was in the United States in November, a move that raised only
minor
objections.

It wasn't until the prime minister returned home and his aides
mobilized American supporters, particularly the pro-Likud leadership of
the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to an Israeli
official.
The word went out that the PM wanted the heat turned up, and it was
done,
said the official.

The strategy worked. The Administration, most notably Secretary
of
State Madeleine Albright, moderated her tone and eased the pressure on
Netanyahu to come up with a plan for the next redeployment. Soothing
words
came from the State Department, which made it known that it wanted to
let
the PM get past his budget crisis first, but that he had an open
invitation
to the White House.

THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS in the Oval Office has to be making
shalom between the two leaders.

President Clinton needs to use all of his interpersonal skills
to
reinforce the important decisions Netanyahu has made that advanced the
peace process, and to discourage the PM's tendency to counter those
moves
with concessions to the right wing that reverse any progress he has
achieved.

On January 20, the first anniversary of Clinton's second
inauguration, the President and the Prime Minister will have an
opportunity
for a new beginning in their personal relationship and in the peace
process.